ABSTRACT
Only a small part of the Maghreb experiences a truly Mediterranean type of climate, for the parallel-trending relief features, themselves parallel with the coast, help to restrict this climate to a limited coastal area. Elsewhere elevation, distance from the sea and proximity to the Sahara are responsible for marked modifications of the Mediterranean characteristics. Fundamentally the climate of the Barbary lands results from the interplay of air-masses of diverse origins; the summer is dominated by tropical air and the winter season by modified Polar air and associated depressions. The distribution of plant life depends upon the complex interaction of three factors: climatic, edaphic and biotic. Of these climate usually exerts the most powerful influence and in North Africa the amount and incidence of rainfall are of paramount importance. These in turn influence soil-formation. One of the largest areas modified by man is Atlantic Morocco or the low platform of the Meseta and the lowlands of the Sebou to the north.
